Help:How to start an LDI
Here are some instructions about starting and developing an LDI. If you don't know what an LDI is, please read The LDI concept Don't know what to start? Take a look at the Proposed LDIs Step 1 - create your page If you want to start an LDI you just have to choose the name of your project and create the page: width=20 preload=Template:NewLDI buttonlabel=Create a new LDI In the new page you'll have this: Input your data (your project's name and so on) instead of the instructions. After this you may: * Describe your project. * Click on "save page" * Go to New LDIs and add to the list the link to your page - that's it You just started a project! Now you're suggested to do some other things in order to let your LDI be ready to start developing. Step 2 - Give your LDI a good structure You don't have strictly to follow everyone of thise points. But they may be useful for a project that has to start. After the description of the project, you can put this sections: * Part A: About the project, may include ** Main goals ** Discussion ** Subprojects * Part B: Past ** Story of the project, reached goals, resolved questions... * Part C: Present ** Actual status of the project * Part D: Future ** Short-term and long-term goals * Part E: Documentation ** Contributors ** Links to forums and websites... Use the discussion page for discussion about the project. For more specific discussions, create subpages. See also the Example Step 3 - Use the tools Inside of the different sections you created you can use different tools. Part A: About the projects Goals Here you can use the goal tool. The goal tool looks this way: If you want to add a goal, write this: and instead of 'The goal' write the goal you want to add. Subprojects If your LDI contains more little projects, create them with the subproject tool: You can use it by writing this: Discussions Sometimes, in an LDI, you'll have to discuss about something. The best is to create a subpage where to discuss it. You can do it with the discussion tool: If you want to use it, write: Part B: Past Resolved points can be signed with the Done tool: And you can use it by writing: If nobody did it, you don't have to write it. This will be shown: The toolbar is a template where the tools are listed, you can see it also in the Tools page: Step 4 - Publicize your LDI It's in the interests of everyone that your project grows. If more people watch this wiki, more projects and unhoped things will be possible. This means that if you want people joining your LDI, now while this wiki is small, you can just wait that it happens (which means, the whole wikia has to get known, and not just your LDI), or you will have to make your project well-known: add the link to it in other websites, in forums which have related topics, in blogs and so on. Just, don't spam. It's useless. Tell it to your friends, to other people, maybe they will want to start an other LDI. That's good as well: more people will watch this wikia, more people will be able to see your LDI. Also inside of this wikia, you can publicize your LDI. Add a description of it on this page: Publicized LDIs. While your project grows Everything on a page could get to much. To keep some order in the wikia, make subpages. You can make subpages in this way. If This is the link to your LDI, This/subpage is the link to your new subpage. How you can split the main page of you LDI: * Create a story archive subpage (a page like YourLDI/Story) * Create a separated memberlist (for ex. YourLDI/Members) * Create subprojects (for example with the up tool) * Create discussion subpages (for example with the ds tool) * Try other ways You are adviced to keep the actual things on the LDI main page, and to put just archived data in subpages. If all this isn't enough, you can * Create a subproject The subproject will be related to yours, but has to be considered as an independent one. * Divide the project in sisterprojects Again you have two different LDIs, that have similar purposes, that can cooperate or get totally independent from each other.